Coinbase Partners With U.K-based Barclays Bank

Coinbase says it has obtained an account with Barclays Bank, a U.K-based global financial services firm. This partnership becomes the first agreement that has been reached between a crypto exchange and a major U.K bank.

The crypto community has hailed Coinbase’s acquisition of a bank account with Barclays Bank, calling the move a major accomplishment by the company. Zeeshan Feroz, Chief Executive Officer of Coinbase, U.K, said that “having domestic GBP (Great Britain Pound) payments with Barclays Bank significantly reduces the costs, improves customer experience, and makes transactions even faster.” The CEO added that “We believe this is a very important step taken towards our company’s commitment to making cryptos easily accessible to everyone,”

Mr. Zeesha Feroz also indicated that partnering with the leading U.K bank was a lengthy process, with the multi-national financial services firm asking to see clear evidence of resilient anti-money laundering processes from the crypto trading company. “It is a brand new industry altogether. There is a lot of risk management and understanding that is needed,” the CEO noted.

Coinbase simplifies withdrawals and fiat deposits for its U.K customers

The announcement of the partnership with Barclays comes only days after U.K’s Financial Conduct Authority granted the crypto exchange an e-money license. The license gives Coinbase access to a scheme (the Faster Payment Scheme) that is expected to streamline the process of depositing and withdrawing fiat currency with the exchange, specifically for its U.K customers.

The e-money license also enables Coinbase to offer various payment services and also issue a variety of digital card alternatives that customers can use to make internet, phone, and card payments. The FCA licensure allowed Coinbase to run operations in twenty-three EU member states.

Mr. Zeesha Feroz said that the crypto trading platform would introduce the said banking services to its U.K customers gradually, further adding that “U.K crypto traders are going to benefit from seamless, safer, and safer bank transfers.” He said that they would begin with a pilot that will give some customers access to the Faster Payments services. “We will start rolling out the services to all U.K users in the next few weeks, making the experience with Coinbase increasingly easier,” Mr. Feroz revealed.

While Coinbase’s new partnership signals a growing acceptance of major crypto firms by U.K’s mainstream banking institutions, its announcement comes barely weeks after the Treasury Select Committee in Britain said that it intends to launch an investigation into distributed ledger technologies and digital currency. Nicky Morgan, the Treasury Committee’s chair said that “people are getting increasingly aware of cryptos like bitcoin and ethereum, but they some are possibly not aware that the cryptocurrencies are currently not regulated in the U.K, and thus, there is no sufficient protection for individual traders.”

Over recent months, Coinbase has actively been pushing into the EU and U.K markets, where there is an increasing demand for its services. The recent acquisition of an e-money license and now the partnership with Barclays seems to be among its active efforts in trying to meet the growing demand.

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Steven is an explorer by heart – both in the physical and the digital realm. A traveler, Steven continues to visit new places throughout the year in the physical world, while in the digital realm has been instrumental in a number of Kickstarter projects. Technology attracts Steven and through his business acumen has gained financial profits as well as fame in his business niche.